Knitting machine for wrap striping



Sept. 30, 1952 KNITTING MACHINE FOR WRAP STRIPING Filed sept. 4, 194e 4 sneek-sheet 1 yXVM.; l y

F. E. BEANS ET AL i 2,612,032

Sept, 30, 1952 F. E. DEANS ET Al.`v v 2,512,032 xNgrTTING MAQHINE FOR wR'AP STRIPING Filed sept. 4, 194e y v v Y 4 sheets-sheet 2- Sept. 30, 1952 F. E. BEANS ETAL 2,612,032

y KNITTING MACHINE FoR'wRAP STRIPING l Fifed sept. 4, 194e 4 sheets-sneu s Filed sept'. 4, 194e' Sept. 30, 1952 F. EDEANS ET AL 2,612,032

KNITTING MACHINE FOR WRAP STRIPING A 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Sept. 30, 1952 Wainwright, Leicester, E rlgland,` as signcrs to The Bentley Engineeringjj'Co lnpalgy-' Limited;

Leicester, E'nglaridj Animation samenwer 4, 1946, serial Np. 694.731, 1 Y i In Great Britain Septlnbeii. 12,

wenn (CL 651135..

YThis inventionis concerned with theproduition, in machine-knitted fabric and articles, ci; patternsby what isknown, as wrap strlpng.' wherein threads, additional to the ground thread` of vvl l i ch :the fabricisin the main knitted, "al "e` Wrapped round selected needles and, being' irl comorated with the groundthread 'infselecte'df needley loops, impart afpatterned appearancev to' thea'bric, An object of thepresent invention isV toproyde for/ theintroduc'tion of la plurality'oi colours in one and the ysame course o'f a panel. oitheabric.

The`- invention, provides a method of wrap striping, or patterning in which a pluralltyfcfv Wrap threads isfed in a course, which consistsin employing aseparate wrap linger foreach thread,l traversing said Wrap lingers one afteranother pastone 'and the saine group of needles, and for each traversepositioning at athread receiving height only the needle or needles required to receive vthread at that traverse. Preferably'thel Wrapping is effected before the needles clear the loops ofthe previous course, selected needles beingg'raised, to a height less than the clearing height, for eachvvrapping traverse toreceive the wrap thread. Inthe case of the needle or needles raised to receivethe first wrap thread, said needle or needles is or are subsequently lowered to avoid the 'second Wrap thread; the expressionraised as employed hereinis to be interpreted asincluding a condition in which the said, needle is. orineedlesare retained at alevel above the remlndel-, Y

'It.is furt h er ypreferred that the Wrapping traverse in relationto the needles shall be in the opposite direction to the relative traverse bef` tv'veenr the needles and their knitting cams or other operating means; Thus, in the case of a rotating needle cylinder machine, the relative traversefis effected by causing the Wrap lingers to lag behind the needles.

The foregoing and other features of the inventionset out iny the appended claims are incorporatedin the mechanism, primarily suitable fora crcular knitting machine of the superimposed needle cylinder type w herein the cylinders rotate. (such as that sold underthe registered trade-mark Komet), which is hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 isafront elevation of the releva nt partsofthe machine. showing Wrap ngers. Wrap f lngercarrier, andLassociated parts, but with the upper.needleyliilder.and @am box omitted:

,Figures and 2 A arel asectional elevation,

. cliines'of ihetyne' referred, to 'are rhein wel known. "the j appended "drawings show the Present 1111801191113' .m TQEIEO'" Thuilif'lll and'` bottom cylinders fare 'Show'rl' at l and f2 thef top cam box at 3', theldoubleseilded needles at andthe 'iop' slideifsat 5. The 'methoden which; said mechanismjoperates consists inadvancing'. at a wrapping zone, awr'ap thread guide onnigeir c (wliiclijrotatesfwith thene'edle Cylinders ri'df is provided at 'eachlocation injthe circlewhre t. itis desiredfto supplya Wrap thread) fatth in;- side (fifi the needle 'clrele towardsj'theknlttmg1- point, so vthat injeflectjit overtakes 'B'SIQHQL dieA needles, projecting; it; outwards across; the; needlefcircle, holding. it staticnaryjso' that it 'lags behind .said ,groupl of 'needlesand the 1atte takes it With the result lfllatf jsuch needles th as. "may haver been Selectivlmreiseid for.` ma tainelln a relatively,,faisedppsliioiix rec velt thread; 'and ftheiil inoviri'g .Niinwards Qro s? needlefcicle',

In the present, QOIlSQructicii thewranth ea, guider Orangerie ;"lcng'blajdelike"me bef mounted, inside th upper or ribneed1e cylinde i and having ath'ref' d guidingporticnor toe 'l -ator' near vthe lower end. Itlislcarriedfat there location ill 4theneedlecircle, in a groov cylindrical carrier erinsideand rotating .Y With, needle cylinder fl) and i's' shapedsthatfit v rockfat the wrappingfneinthe groovef'wh eby it receives a radial movement/whim lia, lili@ iliieai` guiding endl', I1v across ihejiieedle The 'fulmini point Bisinterijiieaiate the'er'ilds'f the upper end isalran'gfed Ce; "g.`"iv'it but `so, that it can befactedv 4upon'` by cams'1 or thel equivalent, I I at said yzonev to" 'move fthe" thread guiding end 'I .acro'ssthe needlecirclefi Thefcfl Il may act in both directions orinjne d ectiii only andthe iinge'rreturned by a s1o 1`-i'n'g, |'2 'lng stopped. fromy excessive, movement byfl' stoo lf3 onthe. bobbn carrier 'l 4 bi1 .Whichaisupplrb '1li liiiflr'sihwrap-nngermathemati@ aeiaosz The wrap finger 6 is housed in the groove in the carrier il for preferably only the upper portion of its length, the carrier 8 extending from level I6 near the upper end of the nger to level IT a little below the fulcrum point 9. The lower part is then free to be deflected laterally to provide the movement, circumferentially of the needle circle, which causes it to overtake the needles of the group with which it co-operates and to be positioned at the leading end of the group (the leading end being that end which arrives rst at the knitting point); this overtaking movement is hereinbefore referred to as the advance of the finger. Thus, the direction of rotation of the needle cylinders I and 2 and of the carrier 8 being anti-clockwise in Figure 3, the finger moves to the right hand end of the group of needles shown in Figures l and 3. The flexing of this finger 6 to give this movement is preferably restricted to a comparatively short length of the finger say about one inch, immediately below the carrier ii, in order to give a more definite and uniform movement to the thread guiding end 1, with the vertical component of the movement a minimum. This restriction of the fiexing may be achieved by making the finger in a stiffer section in the part which is not required to flex either by the formation of the linger itself or by attaching a stiffening piece I8. In the latter case, the stiiiening piece may incorporate a projection I9 to be engaged to deflect the finger. One method by which the deflection of the finger 6 may be carried out consists of mounting a deflecting piece in a groove in the carrier 8, spaced a short distance from the groove housing the finger 6 and parallel to that groove. The lower end ofthe deflecting piece 20 engages the projection I9 on the finger and is operated to slide in its groove, for instance by a projecting butt 2| engaging cams 22, 22a, at or near its upper end, to bring about the defiection. The engagement between the deflecting piece 2U and the projection I9 on the finger 6 may be a hinged connection so that the finger is deflected in both directions and controlled throughout its movement by the deiiecting piece or the engagement may be merely contact so that the finger is deflected in one direction only by` the deflecting piece and returned by other means. In the illustrated construction the latter method is adopted, and the linger 6 is made of springy material and set so that when free it tends to lie a little beyond the rear extremity of its intended starting or rest position at the trailing (or left hand) kend of the group of needles (Fig. 3) with which it co-operates (the trailing end of the group being thatend which arrives last at the knitting point). A rear stop 23 holds the finger 6 up to its starting position and when the finger is deiiected by the deflecting piece 20 and released it will return by its own springiness to the stop 23. The extent of the deflection is` determined by the movement given to the deecting piece 20 and is preferably a little more than enough to advance the finger 6 to the position for projection across the needle circle. The exact position for projection is determined by a spring front stop 24 which yields downwards as the finger 6 is moved by the deiiecting piece 20 and springs up into place as the finger approaches the end of its movement and thus holds the finger in the exact position at the leading end of the group needles for projection as the deflecting piece is withdrawn. The spring stop 24 may consist inmerely a spring blade, the rear end of which is anchored at 25 in a position clear of the finger 6 and the front end of which lies in the path of the finger and is shaped so that it is brushed aside (e. g. pressed down) as the finger advances towards its position for projection. The outer edge 24' of front stop 24 is so placed that as the finger 6 is projected outwards across the needle circle the heel 26 of the finger remains in contact with the stop 24 until the yarn guiding portion or toe 'I of the linger is safely outside of the needle circle. At this stage, the back edge 26 of the heel 26 has passed outwards beyond the edge 24 of stop 24 and the cleft or instep 27 between heel and toe spans the needle line (see Fig. 2); therefore the finger 6 tends to spring immediately to the fixed stop 23 at the other end of its movement. This movement however, is delayed by the presence of a stationary abutment 28 placed outside the needle circle in such a position that the toe 'I of the finger 6 rests on it as soon as the finger becomes free from the spring stop 24. The object ofthe abutment 28 is to prevent the sudden snap of the finger 6 to its rear stop 23 with the consequent tendency to break the yarn. The finger 6 is therefore held stationary while the needles travel rotationally past it, with the result that the speed of the travel of the finger in relation to the group of needles towards the trailing end of said group is equal to that of the needles past the feeder 29 for the ground yarn. This is the wrapping traverse of the linger 6. It takes place before the needles of the group have cleared their old loops and during it selected needles are held in a raised position, which is less than the clearing height, so that the thread fed by the finger is laid on said needles above the old loops and above the spoons of the open latches. When the finger arrives at the trailing end of the group itis retracted within the needle circle by spring I2 and continues to rotate with the needle cylinder I. The needles that have just been wrapped are subsequently lowered to joint the remainder. It will therefore be seen that the finger, or rather its thread-feeding part, moves unidirectionally in a closed circuit at each course wherein wrapping is to take place, the successive circuits being made in one and the same direction.

Preferably the abutment 28 is mounted to yield in the direction of rotation (in the case of a rotating cylinder machine) so that if the finger 6 is projected outwards a little before its correct time the abutment will be brushed aside and no part of the machine will be damaged. Therefore the abutment 28 is carried by a lever 30 which is normally stationary and is freely mounted on pin 3l and is urged by spring 32 against a positioning stop 33.

In order to make patterns in the fabric having two colours in the same panel and in the same course of knitting it has been proposed to lay the two yarns simultaneously on needles at different levels, and to select the needles to be taken to three different levels, a low level in which neither yarn is taken, an intermediate level in which the low yarn is taken and the high yarn passed over the head of the needle, and a high level in which the high yarn is taken and the low yarn lies below the latch so that it is thrown over the head of the needle at the knitting point and doesnot appear on the face of the fabric.

The illustrated mechanism is constructed and arranged for the introduction of two colours, in the same panel or the group and in one and the same course of knitting, in two successive stages 'ftiieir'f' oldi' loops, yand the selectedV vneedlesare fraisedlto aY height less thaneclearing height. The 'needles that at the' first stage receive the rs't wrapthread (from ngerli) above the spoons "off! their "open latches'` and' abovethe' unclea'red y`ol'd loops; are flowered to rejointhe"remaining .needles ofthe' groupbefore the-second stage`;"at fthe second stage other selected needles 'are raised the wrapping height to receive the i second wrap-"thread" from fingen-6a. Thereafter all needles ofL the groupl continue round' tovthelnitting`Ir pointwhereatf they' all -re'celve the`-ground yarnand the loops of v`this ground yarn, 'together withi the wrapthreadloops on Itheselected needles,` are drawn throughthe-old loops and the 'latter are castoif. -It will be appreciated that 'in theseoperations if: oneof the wrap threads ii'oatsv (as in manyinstances it will), past anon- ...wrapAy needle between twoA Wrapped needles, this 'o'atflength ispassed to the-backr of the nonfwrapneedle and does not appear' at the outer face of the fabric.

'Itmayhere be pointedoutthat'this sequence ofioperations necessarily involves' a movement Aof."theifwrapping nngers- 6; 6a, sb'stantially cir'- 'cumferenti'ally above the headsfof lthe needles an'dy the :fact` that wrapping' takes place'prior to clearing overcomes the "difficulties 'tl'iat` have been` experienced .in effecting'such' `a movement .inzanmachi'ne ofthe superimposed needle cylinder.: type "wherein therey isv little space" between .thextwocylinders-'andbetween the rib and plain needles.

`Itfiszirnp'ortant `torseparate sufficiently the old main or groundloop' and the wrap yarn or other# wise the wrap yarn will clear the latch 'at the 'Sametime as the main loop andl will not then 'appear' on'A thefface of the fabric; This* separationis :not'readily achieved without special means particularlywhen' the first needle to be vwrapped inbnecourse is the lastA needle or'very near the -lastneedle wrapped'in theprevious course. The means-employed forthis purposel comprises` a member 34J-which" lies immediately behind. the needles? and' above the fabric Y and extends from theshegn'ning of the' wrapping zone toa pointa flit't-le beyond *that wherel the loops clears'Y the latch'es.l`As"an additional safety precaution; it Iis''preferable' to1 'lower' the' needles` slightly immediately after'clearingsc that it is impossible 'for the'wrap yarns-to get below the latches. The member for separating the yarns as just described may conveniently be formed from apiece of round wire attached atthe beginning ofthe wrappingzone' to a non-rotatable tube 35 located inside thelt'op needle cylinder -I so that' the tube andwire remain' stationary while the needles 4 revolvefaround them.y The main loops are always below this member 34Y andthe wrap'ngers 6; 6a pass-above itto 'cross'the needle'circle and consequently lay-the wrap -yarns over the' top yof it'. Thewrap' 'yarns slide along-*it until'they slipof `the free'end just' beyond the clearing point'. The tube-35;is"cut away, at the uwrapping zonejat'36 soa'stopermit of 'the ngerY movements;

ThetWoJngersiBaBi arellnountedleither*inthe Soon as the-firstrn'gerfA is' pro'jected'acrossthe needle circle and thereby vacates'its positionfat 'the springj stop 4'24, the" Second` finger.. 6a "S'prlgS against "said stop'so that tis"rea'dyfinf'the.'saine position for projectionv when its turnbomfes'. l'The projected rst nger', having'been engage' by its xed' abutment 23; is' held'stationary'so'that vthe needles move on pastiit'andthetrailingehd of 'the' vgroup eventually' 'movesv opposite. it;f1`at which stage' the rear stop r.23"'catch'es' upf' with itt and causesit' to travel' ahead with the g'ro'up of needles,l away'from` itsl abutment 28.; 'it"s"also swung inwards'across the 'needle' circleA bfy its 'spring I2. This rear'st/op` 23 is' frmed""with either a stoner` anv incline'SI'so thatlasI soon as 'the first finger Iiv is 'inside' the needlecr'clefa' further slight inward movement of saidin'gler causes its" heel ,2'6' tospring down 'the'step.'' cline, thus leaving theA lstop' vacant'f or the ,second finger 5a to` be *retracted* (by its' 'spring 12)] at 'exactly the 'same'point'in the' needle' circle .asklwa's the/first finger. Thesecond finger'6a`is of `^col1fse 4projected outwards across' the 'needle circle by cams I I at a later stagev than thersti''ngen and engages' a second yielding abutment'28a which is spaced circumferentially'from the. :tiretl abut-.- ment'fz' (nearer to'the knittingl p'oinIDr, which second 'abutment' holds' it stationary untilltle trailing* end of the' group" of neejdleslarves; o'p lp'o'sit'e-it and the rear-stop 23 'engages it. Itlwill therefore 'be appreciatedthatlthe Afingers'M 5;. 6h makekv theiry wrapping nlov'ein'entv outside fthe vneedlesone' afterthe other. f

Abutment28a is mounted enlever 39a' pivotd at `3 I a'and urgedby 'spring 32a against vst'opia. 'As the stops 23, 24 need'to beplacedlwith some precision so" tl'latth'e' n'gers'- are. projected'lajd retracted" between'tv'fo` chosen needles, they! are' provided with' means forl adjustment s0 thatthey can be accurately set. 'For'. this purpose they=are carried by or formed. on al' sector-shaped.` lplate 38Which is positioned" on'the upper surfaceff a dial 39' insde'the needle circle and hasnear its'outer edge'acurVed rim' 4D' slidably engaged in an annular'groove 4I in the diall', "I'l'ieinn'er *edgeof' this plate '38 'is' slidably"receivedin. a

groove 42: formed between the' uppersufaceof 'the -dial` and' a member 43" attach'ed'to".thef'dial boss 44, which member 43 jalsrr housesla vwire orfother 'ring l45 V(p'referably fy circular cross section)"vvhich restsy on `the""u1'o1:1erJ face g buriederiefoffthe plateei A*iccisurg'*sere t is' insertarv radially in a; suitabiythreadea here inv thev member"` 43 -a'nd has' a conical end? which bearswa 'the fingers; 'thus' by tighteningfte screwifllthe' ring 451s pressed-down locallyat'o It-has previously been mentioned that tube 35 remains stationary while the fingers 6, Ba rotate inside, and the` cylinder i rotates outside it. To permit of this, the carrier 8 is driven -by gear 53 (to which it is clamped by plate 52 and which has a bearing inV stationary plate 54), the cylinder I isdriven by gear Si at a lower level, while the tube 35 is supported at an intermediate level by stationary casing 51. Tube 35 is locked by nut 56 to a ring 55 which is keyed to said casing, and in order that the height of the lower edge of the tube, and of the separating wire 34, may be adjusted the edge 58 of ring 55 is of cam-form and rests on a ring 59 having its cooperating upper edge also of cam-form so that by adjusting the cam ring 59 circumferentially within housing by means of the protruding 60 thel tube 35 may be raised and lowered. I.; Figure 6 is 'adevelopment of the cams for the lower needle cylinder and also shows the needles I, bottom sliders 5' and jacks 1l. During circiilar knitting (e. g. during the knitting of the leg and foot of a seamless half hose or the like)v the knitting butts S9 of the sliders 5' descend the knitting cam 81a and, bolt cams 61 and 68 being withdrawn, .travel from right to left along the path indicated by the dotted line 66. Bolt cam 69 is operative and acts on the butts 19 of jacks H to raise all needles so that the knitting butts 89 engage clearing cam l. When wrap striping is required, selected needles are raised to a non-clearing height, to take the wrap yarn supplied by finger 6, by means of cam 12 sorthat the knitting butts follow path 13; after taking the wrap thread they are lowered by cam .1,1. As the needles that have received this wrap thread descend cam 17 the wrap thread is supported by the separating Vmember 34 at the points where said thread extends above said member. If a second wrap thread is to be supplied by finger 6a, a second selection is made at the second stage and the selected needles are raised to a non-clearing height by cam l5 to take the wrap thread fed by iinger 6a the knitting butts following path 16. After taking this second thread the raised needles are not lowered but are cleared by cam 14, together with all unwrapped needles as well as those which took the iirst wrap thread: that is to say, by virtueof the operation if the separating member 34 only the old loops are cleared below the latches, but the newly applied wrap threads remain above the spoons of the open latches. The butts of the cleared needles pass on over cam 8l and the needles take the main thread at feeder 2B and are lowered by cam 81a so that they all knit. It is here to be explained that since the needles that were supplied with wrapping thread arrive at the-knitting cams with that thread still above the spoons of their open latches, these needles pass loops of the wrap thread together with loops of the newly fed main yarn through the old loops that were cleared at cam 14. Any appropriate selectingmechanismmay be employed to select needles to. be raised by cams 12 and l5.

' `I n oscillatory knitting, when knitting the heel, it is desirable to direct the idle instep needles into a low non-knitting track instead of into the usual high non-knitting track so that the wrap thread can be laid on the needles before their loops are cleared in the rst, rotary course following the heel. For this purpose, bolt cam 61 is inserted YSxuri'ciently to engage the long butts 85 associated with .the instep needles and to direct them into the low track 78. but to miss the short butts 89 associated with the heel needles which short butts therefore ,follow track 19, bolt cam 68 being inserted to engage them. Bolt cam 69 is withdrawn to4 permit the idle instep needles to remain in the low non-knitting track throughout the heel. Cam stands away from the cylinder suciently to miss the short knitting butts 89 but is closed enough to engage the long knitting butts. Thus, in a swing from left to right during the knitting of the heel, after the heel needles all knit by reason of their short butts 89 descending the full stitch cam 8l they are raised by cam 82 and are cleared by cam 83, but the long butts associated with the instep needles are directed by cam 8U into the low non-knitting track shown by a chain dotted line beneath cam 83. Picking is done in the usual manner. That is to say, the needles which knit the heel are gradually reduced in number by the end needle in each swing being raised to the high inactive loop-holding level 84, said needles being subsequently picked down again to the knitting track. A draw thread of the type described in British Patent Specification 400,623 may be knitted by cams 68 and 85 being inserted sufficiently to direct the butts 85 down track 8B. 81 is the draw thread stitch cam and when a drawn thread is to be knitted it is lowered together with its guard cam 88 to a stitch-drawing position.

It will be appreciated that if it is desired to supply wrap thread or threads at more than one location in the needle Wale, the appropriate fingers 5, 6c, are provided at each such location to operate as they arrive at the wrapping zone illustrated in the drawings.

'Ihe subject matter of U. S. Patent No. 2,463,751,1of March 8, 1949, and U. S. patent application Serial ANo. 694,732, filed September 4, 1946, now abandoned, is disclosed in the present application, and the subject matter of the present application is disclosed in the above mentioned patent and patent application.

We claim:

1. In a knitting machine having a needle bed and relatively displaceable needle-operating means and needles in said bed, wrap striping mechanism for patterning by feeding a plurality of wrap threads in a course, comprising a separate wrap nger for each thread, means for traversing'said iingers one after another past one and the same group of needles, means for positioning at a thread-receiving height in each traverse, only the needle or needles of said group required to receive the wrap thread fed at that traverse, and a separator, for separating the old loops from the wrap loops on the needles, located at the plain side of the needles below the path of movement of the fingers and extending along the needle line throughout the zone at which said fingers operate and having a free end at the end of said zone to permit the wrap loops to slip od it.

2. In a knitting machine of the superimposed needle cylinder type having rotatable needle cylinders equipped with latch needles and relativelystationary needle-operating means; wrap striping or patterning mechanism for applying wraps threads at a wrapping Zone to selected needles of at least one group thereof, comprising for each group two separate wrap lingers each for feeding a Wrap thread and having thread guiding eX- tremities, means .mounting said ngers Within the upper cylinder to rotate with the cylinders, means for operating said fingers to overtake the needles of the associated group, to pass at the leading end of the group to the outside of the needle circle, to lag one after another behind said group in two successive Wrapping traverses, and to retire within the circle at the trailing end of the group, and means for positioning a different selection of needles of said group at an elevated thread-receiving height in each traverse.

3. A machine according to claim 2, having a stationary tube located between the circle of needles and the lingers, which tube has a window at the wrapping zone to accommodate the lingers in their Wrapping movements.

4. A machine according to claim 2, having a stationary tube located between the circle ofv needles and the fingers, which tube has a Window at the wrapping zone to accommodate the lingers in their wrapping movements, and a separator for separating the old loops from the wrap loops on the needles, which separator is attached to the` tube and extends Within the needle circle circumferentally across the window from one edge thereof to a point adjacentto the other edge.

FREDERICK EDWARD DEANS. CARLYLE HERBERT WAINWRIGHT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

